Spring-wheel.



W. GEBHARDT.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6. 1912.

1,143,183. Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES THE NORRIS PETERS C0,. FHOTG-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D f

W. GEBHARDT.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6, 1912.

151 43, 1 83 Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WITN ESSES ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS CO. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D. C

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Specification of Letters Patent.

SPRING-V7 HEEL.

Patented June 15, 1915.

Application filed August 6, 1912. Serial No. 713,692.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM GEBHAR T, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Spring-l/Vheel, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has reference to improvements in spring wheels, and itsobject is to provide a wheel which may replace the inelastic wheelscommonly used in connection with automobiles, and which are usually madeof wood.

Pneumatic tires such as are employed in connection with automobiles arefrequently of short life because they are run comparatively soft, andmany tire manufacturers guarantee tires only when they are maintainedpumped up hard. When such air pressure within the tire is employed as isexpected by the tire manufacturers much of the elasticity of the tire islost and the automobile is subjected to shocks and jars in the parts notprotected by springs and which tend to produce crystallization of theaxles.

The present invention is designed to overcome the objection to a hardpumped tire by providing a degree of elasticity between the hub and therim of the Wheel which will compensate for the lack of elasticity in thetire.

The present invention, therefore, has to do with the production of aspring wheel in conjunction with which the ordinary pneumatic tire isemployed, but with which the tires may be pumped up very hard and allthe advantages of the high pressure within the tires may be utilizedeven to the extent of prolonging the life of the tires fully twentyfiveper cent., while at the same time the life of the vehicle is prolongedand the riding is made much easier than would otherwise be the case.Moreover, great flexibility of the front of the vehicle withoutinterference with the ease of steering is obtained, for by the presentinvention while the wheel is elastic, it is at the same time very rigidagainst any side displacement with reference to the axis of rotation.

In accordance with the present invention there are provided flat steelspring spokes of sufficient width axially to give the requisitestiffness against side motion, while at the same time these spokes willyield to any force tending to move the rim of the wheel toward the axisof rotation of the wheel.

The structure is such that the spokes are readily applied or removed,wherefore repairs may be quickly made, and, moreover, there is slightliability of breakage of the spokes, while the cost of the production ofthe wheel will not exceed that of a wooden wheel. Moreover, the wheel ofthe present invention may be applied directly to the axles of existingautomobiles and any type of rim may be applied to the wheel of thepresent invention, so that a wooden wheel may be converted into a springwheel with no further cost than the substitution of the rim, hub andspokes of the wheel of the present invention for the like parts of theordinary wooden automobile wheel.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with thefurther understanding that while the drawings show a practicalembodiment of the invention which has proven successful in operation,the invention is susceptible of other practical embodiments, whereforeit is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of thedrawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes do notmark any material departure from the salient features of the invention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is an elevation of a wheel constructed inaccordance with the present invention, with some parts broken away andother parts shown in section. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diametric section of the wheel of Fig. 1 with theaxle, rim and tire omitted. Fig. 4 is an inner face view of one of thehub plates. Fig. 5 is a diametric section of the hub plate of Fig. iwith a positioning ring therein omitted. Fig. 6 is a section on the line6-6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 1 with the rimand tire omitted.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a felly 1 to which may beattached a rim 2 of any approved pattern designed to receive a pneumatictire 3 of any desired construction, the rim and tire not entering intothe present invention, and consequently needing no detail description,since the invention is not confined to any particular form of rim ortire.

The felly 1 may be in the form of a casting of aluminum, or steelstamping, or may be made of any suitable material, preferably metal,with openings 1 at suitable intervals to contribute to the lightness ofthe felly without sacrifice of strength. Applied to one side of thefelly 1 is a flat ring 5 which may be continuous from end to end, whileon the other side of the felly there are applied segmental plates 6sufficient in number and extent to conform to the ring 5 so that thering 5 and plates 6 cover both sides of the felly. This ring and thesegmental plates are held to the body of the felly by bolts 7 which maytraverse webs formed between the passages 4L, and when the plates are inplace the passages 4: become closed cells.

7 portions are formed with recesses 8 each terminating in an angleextension 9. The recess 8 and its extension 9 may pass entirely throughthe felly in the direction of the axis of rotation, and is designed tore ceive a correspondingly shaped end of the spoke 10, which latter isformed of a flat spring strip appropriately bent at one end to fit therecesses 8 and its continuation 9,

and from thence bent into a quadrant and merging at the other or innerend into a straight portion 11 substantially tangent to the curve of thequadrant which when the spoke is installed in the wheel is radial to theaxis of rotation.

' The radial portions 11 of the spokes are lodged in radial grooves 12formed on the inner faces of two like hub plates 13, each further formedwith a. central recess let in which is lodged a ring 15 forming anabutment for the inner ends of the portions 11 of the spokes, so as toposition these ends. The hub plates are also provided with externalrecesses 16 forming pockets in which ,are lodged bolts 17 connecting theplates and also serving to correspondingly lighten the structure withoutmaterial decrease in locked in the hub against accidental displacement.The hub plates are formed with alined central openings 18 through'whichmay be extended the metal hub 19 of the auto wheel, the hub platesinterior to the recesses 16 occupying the position in the metal hub ofthe automobile usually occupied by thespokes in the wooden wheel.

No' attempt is made to illustrate any particular hub structure and theshowing of the drawings in this respect is to be considered simply asindicative without confining'the invention to any particular structureof the parts which do not enter into the present invention' Importance,

however, is attached to the fact that the movable, as is customary, aresmaller in diameter than the hub plates and bear against the same, andsaid flanges are connected by bolts which traverse the hub plates atpoints nearer the center thereof than the bolts 17. In the drawing anaxle is indicated at 20, anti-friction bearings at 21, and the usualexterior cap for the hub at 22. rantally curved portion of each spokeextends from the folly to the hub, being substantially tangential to thefelly where entering it, while the straight end portions aresubstantially radial to the felly and to the hub.

In the actual operation of the wheel the hub ends of the springs lead,while the felly ends ofthe springs trail, .andconsequently the torsionaleffect of the drive is to straighten out the springs which, of course,is resisted by the felly, wherefore'thesprings are uite ri 'id with resect to the 'drivin forces. hen, however, the wheel meets an obstructionthe efiect of which would be neutralized by a comparatively soft tire,but the shock of .which, with a tire well pumped up would be transmittedto the body of the vehicle, the springs will yield in a direction tocause the rim of the Wheel to approach the axle, or the axle to approachthe rim of the wheel at some point, certain of the springs bendingcompressively and others bending by elongation or stralghtening, and

the shock or ar is therefore taken up'by the springs and is nottransmitted to the vehicle. The bending of the springs 1s intermediateof the ends where the bending is insuflicient to cause any deteriorationof the springs, while no material bending takes place either at the hubplates or at the rim, and these parts are not put under such strain asto cause breakage of the springs. 1 7

Of course, the springs may sometimes break, in which case it is butnecessary to remove the outer hub plate and the proper section 6 whenthe broken spring may be The quadreadily removed and a new one insertedwith substantially radial recesses, and the hub be-v 7 ing provided withsubstantially radial seats,

and each spoke having its outer end formed with a straight portion whichis radial to the. wheel to fit in the recesses of the. felly, and

at the other end formed into a straight por-,

tion also radial to the'wheel to in'the seats of thehub, the spokebetween the two straight portions outside the hub and felly being formedinto a curve which is equal to a quadrant and extends from the felly tothe hub and is substantially tangential to the telly Where it joins withthe straight por tion seated in the telly, all the spokes curv ing inthe same direction throughout the Wheel.

2. A spring wheel comprising a felly having openings separated bytransverse webs, said webs being provided with radially-disposedrecesses which lead from the inner periphery of the felly and terminatein angle extensions, said recesses and their extensions being cuttransversely through the telly so as to be open at each side thereof, aring applied to one side of the felly over said openings and recesses,segmental plates applied to the other side of the telly and closing saidopenings and recesses, bolts traversing the webs and connecting theplates, leaf-spring spokes having their outer ends entering the recessesand formed with bent extremities to engage the angle extensions of therecesses, a hub, and means for connecting the inner ends of the spokesto the hub.

3. A spring wheel comprising a felly, a hub, and leaf-spring spokes,said hub being formed of two plates each with radial grooves matchingthose of the other, said grooves being adapted to receive the straightinner portions of the spokes, said hub plates having external spacedrecesses forming pockets, the grooves on the inner sides of the platescoinciding with the spaces between the external recesses, boltsconnecting the plates at the recesses, and a separate ring forming anabutment for the inner ends of the spokes, said ring being seated incircular recesses provided on the inner sides of the hub plates andjoining with the inner ends of the radial grooves.

e. A spring wheel comprising a felly, a hub, and leaf-spring spokes,said hub being formed of two plates each with grooves matching those ofthe other, said grooves being adapted to receive the inner portions ofthe spokes, bolts connecting the plates at the spaces between thegrooves, said hub plates having alined central openings through which isremovably passed the metal hub of an automobile wheel, the flanges onsaid metal hub being of less diameter than the hub plates and bearingagainst the outer faces of the same, and separate bolts connecting theflanges of the metal hub and passing through the hub plates so as toclamp the latter between the flanges of the hub, said last-mentionedbolts traversing the hub plates nearer the center thereof than thefirst-mentioned bolts.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM GEBHARDT.

Witnesses:

C. A. BARNES, Jr., L. H. BOWDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

